Surprising Encounter
by Zoja
Summary: Upon David's visit to DC, his and Sue's paths unexpectedly cross again. J/S with a small mention of David/OC.


**A/N: **For a while the thought of something like this was swimming around in my head, and now I finally got the idea for this scene. I'm not really sure what to think about it, but I hope you are going to like it. :)

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He really couldn't believe it's been almost eight years since the last time he was in DC. He had absolutely no idea when this whole time passed; it felt like he was leaving it just yesterday and he didn't see that much changes in everything around him, with the exception of the people. The woman, who used to be his neighbour for such a long time, living next door with her little daughter, who wasn't so little anymore, being a teenager now. The owner of his favourite restaurant, the man he remembered as the one with full head of thick, black hair now had much less of it and completely gray, as well as more wrinkles.

He only came to the capital city for two weeks; he had a few business meetings to attend, his company in Los Angeles now slowly becoming known in the whole country. He was glad they were in DC, because it gave him a chance to visit the place, where he grew up and lived for so many years of his life. Whenever he could, he was going to one of the places he used to love so much, remembering all good things that happened there. He didn't know where to go this very sunny and warm summer day, which was probably going to be one of the best this season. In the end, he found his feet bring him to the park, one where he used to come very often.

He was slowly walking along the familiar path, his mind bringing all the memories from this place in front of his eyes. He was so lost in thoughts, that at first he didn't even know what happened, when he felt something collide with his legs. He looked down and noticed that it wasn't something, but someone; a boy of about five years of age, with a full head of blonde hair and a pair of big, brown eyes, which had something familiar in them, but he had no idea what.

"Are you okay?" he crouched, so he could be about the same level as the child.

"Yes, I am. I'm really sorry, Sir."

"Jimmy!" he didn't manage to say anything, reassure the boy it was fine, before he heard a female name call out the name, to which the boy reacted, glancing behind himself and his cheeks were graced with a light red colour.

One thing was certain for him – he knew that voice. His troubles to match it with the face lasted for a very short time, before he saw the right person in his mind. The very same person, who he so often came to this place with, along with their dogs and had a lot of great time together. The very same woman, who used to be his girlfriend for some time, until he left for Los Angeles and despite the initial attempts to keep contact, they lost it completely. He glanced up and look right at the face, which wasn't exactly the same as in his mind, but surely belonging to the same person, to Sue Thomas.

He remembered her very well. She wasn't the kind of person one could easily forget after meeting. Yes, there was a time when he thought that they shared something really special, even though he later realised that it wasn't this way at all. They got along very well, having so much fun together thanks to their common love for dogs and a lot of other things, but now he knew they were simply good friends. There just couldn't be anything more between them, not when her heart belonged to another man and it was yet another reasons why he was so eager to leave. He believed, that if they were meant to be, their bond would survive and one of them will come to the other one, but it never happened.

There was some time, when he wondered what happened to her. Did her dreams come true? Did she get this family, which – as she admitted to him – was her biggest dream? Was she happy? He didn't have answers for any of those questions and much more, not until now. The boy in front of him was her son; he wasn't her spitting image, but similar to her enough not to leave him any doubts about that fact. It was then, that it dawned on him, why this boy's eyes seemed familiar – the reason was as obvious as it was only possible, because he knew his father. The only difference was, that while the boy's gaze was full of shame and slight fear, his father's were always filled with jealousy directed at him, and love and yearning at Sue.

He smiled, putting all the pieces together and understanding, that the two have obviously found their way to each other. He tried to be oblivious towards it for a very long time, to believe that he and Sue could work, but they couldn't and the reason for this was nobody other but Jack Hudson. Nobody, who knew them, could have any doubts that the bond between them was as strong as it only could be, crossing the border of casual friendship, that they claimed to share. He would have to be stupid not to see that, even though Sue denied it and Jack seemed to ignore it. He couldn't understand that at all, believing that only an idiot could do that, while he had feelings for the woman as Sue, who obviously reciprocated them very much. He was certain, that all it would take was one word, a simple gesture from Jack to claim her as his and now he could see that at one point in the past, it happened. He was glad, because he always believed she really deserved to have this true happiness, but he also believed that Jack Hudson was the only one, who could give it to her, owning her heart so completely. She obviously had this family, perhaps not as big as she thought, but it could still not be a lost dream if he was to judge, considering the very visible bulge of her pregnant belly.

When their gazes met, he had no doubts that she recognised him as well. Her eyes widened in surprise, which he could easily understand as he felt it too; neither of them expected to meet the other one.

"David..!" she spoke, while he stood back up and smiled at her.

"Long time no see, huh?" he asked and glanced down at the boy, staring at him curiously seeing, that his mother obviously knew him.

"Who are you?" he asked with a slightly suspicious look, which made him chuckle.

"I'm your mom's friend. My name is David. And you are Jimmy, right?"

"I'm James Hudson. And you can't be Mom's friend, she never said anything about you."

David was slightly taken aback by the boy's statement and the way he said it, and when he looked at Sue he noticed her eyes widen, as well as a deep blush come to her face.

"Jimmy..!" she exclaimed. "That wasn't nice!"

"That's perfectly fine." he stated, and his gaze moved back to the child. "It's because we haven't seen each other for a long time, you know."

When James' curiosity was satisfied, the boy run to play with Levi again, giving him the opportunity to talk a little with Sue. There wasn't a long time before his phone rang, and he realised that he needed to be going if he didn't want to be late for a meeting. Still, during this relatively short time he managed to learn what he wanted to know. Even by the way she was speaking about it, it was very clear she was very happy with her life as Jack's wife, and even though she was often finding herself abashed because of her son's forwardness, it was obvious that he was her pride and joy and along with his dad and two sisters, which were to join him in about two months, her everything.

"It was nice seeing you again, Sue." he said, standing up. "I'm glad it all turned out the way it did for you."

"Yes, the same about you." she smiled, seeing the dreamy expression which appeared on his face, when his mind drifted to his wife and daughter, who were waiting for him to come back to Los Angeles.

"Well, perhaps we'll meet again one day. Bye."

"Bye."

He started slowly walking away, but turned around when he heard James' voice happily calling out "Daddy!". His eyes followed the boy until he ran straight into his father's open arms. He could say that Jack Hudson almost didn't change at all; he lifted his son from the ground and sat him on his hip, and then as if sensing his gaze, looked straight at him. There was the same surprise in him, which he noticed in Sue's eyes, but also the same suspicious look he got from James. He only nodded his head, acknowledging him and hoping he would understand the hidden congratulations behind the gesture, before he turned around and walked away. Only when he was about to leave the park, he glanced behind himself once again. The happiness and love the Hudsons shared was perceptible even from his place, and he was glad that despite all the reasons, which made them so stubbornly deny their love, they were able to find this true happiness.


End file.
